This was announced yesterday by the Presidents of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and Guyana, Irfaan Ali They will not use violence in their dispute or escalate tensions for Essequibo, the territory that has been disputed for more than a century.
They announced that too Your conversations will continue in three months in Brazil.
The leaders They met at Argyle, near Kingstown, in the capital of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, at a meeting sponsored by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) led by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva and the Prime Minister of St .Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves.
The Secretary General of the United Nations He welcomed the commitment of the presidents of Venezuela and Guyana “to resolve their differences by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the Geneva Convention of 1966.”
The spokesman for António Guterres told the press this Friday that the UN chief “is confident that the commitments made yesterday in Argyle, St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be respected.” This would lead to an immediate de-escalation of tensions and in the return to good neighborly relations.”
Stephan Dujarric added that Guterres praised the role of the prime ministers of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica, the presidents pro tempore of CELAC and CARICOM, respectively, and the president of Brazil. He also acknowledged the support of countries in the region to facilitate the discussions of Nicolás Maduro and Irfaan Ali.
The Secretary General “welcomes the parties’ plans to meet again in Brazil in the coming months and Remember that the border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela is before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). and that it takes no position on ongoing legal proceedings,” the spokesman emphasized.
The United Nations attended the meeting of dignitaries as an observerrepresented by Chief of Staff Courtenay Rattray and Under-Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenča.
The case before the court in The Hague
On December 1, the United Nations' highest judicial body ruled against Venezuela not take any action that would “change the current situation” in the disputed territory of Essequibo – rich in oil, minerals and gas in its equally disputed maritime extent – managed and controlled by Guyana.
The verdict was unanimous and represents a decision preliminary determination “until a final decision,” as the court explained on that occasion.
The court also ordered that both parties abstain any action that may aggravate or prolong the controversy before the Court or make the solution more difficult.”
The court's order is: legally binding and is valid until the case presented by Guyana on the future of Essequibo is considered by this Court.
The court's ruling came two days earlier Caracas will hold a referendum on the future of Essequibo. Proposal to make this territory a state of Venezuela and to grant Venezuelan citizenship to its residents. According to the government of that country, the outcome of this consultation was positive for Venezuela.
The history
Essequibo is an area of 160,000 square kilometers lies on the dividing line between the two countries, which Venezuela has always considered its own since it was within its borders at the time of the colony.
Be The dispute began in 1899when Guyana was a British colony and international arbitrators drew a new boundary.
In February 1966After four years of negotiations, Venezuela, Britain and British Guiana – whose name was changed to Guyana because it was an independent state – signed an agreement in Geneva that established the mechanisms for reviewing the controversy and finding satisfactory solutions. Since then, Venezuela has had this treaty as a legal and political framework for its claim to the Essequibo.
In In March 2018, Guyana asked the court to initiate proceedings against Venezuelaand asked him to confirm the legal and binding validity of the “Arbitration Award on the Boundary between the Colony of British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela” of October 3, 1899.
More than two years later, on December 18th, In 2020 the court declared itself responsible to examine Guyana's claim, although without the jurisdiction to deal with Guyana's claims in relation to the Geneva Convention.
The court has set March 8, 2022 and March 8, 2023 as the respective deadlines for submitting an application Remembrance on the part of Guyana and a counter-remembrance on the part of Venezuela. Guyana's report was submitted on time.
On June 7, 2022, Venezuela raised preliminary objections to the admissibility of Guyana's application. The court set October 7 of the same year as the deadline for Guyana to submit in writing its observations and arguments on the preliminary objections. Guyana met the deadline.
Public hearings on Venezuela's preliminary objections were held from November 17 to 22, 2022.
At 6 In April 2023, the court issued its judgment and determined that it had jurisdiction to consider the case and that it may adjudicate Guyana's claims to the extent that they fall within the scope of its judgment of December 18, 2020.